Proposition Joe said:
And the issue with Ohtani isn't that you have to dangle something to make it worthwhile to LAA, it's that you are competing with every other team attempting to do the same thing.
We don't really need a bat. We simply don't have a place for it. You have 7 guys with an OPS over 800, and one of the two regulars under that is Marcus Semien who isn't getting replaced in the lineup. The other is Nate Lowe, who isn't replaceable unless your guy can power hit AND play 1B.
Because of that, any bat you'd be adding would just be a marginal upgrade over what you already have.
Club needs a legit TORP and another high-end bullpen arm. I'd say we could get by with just a decent starter, but the bullpen simply is not close to good enough to be able to lean on it.
If everyone stands pat, we can hold off the Astros... but we will have a playoff rotation that will be a coin-flip every night out and that's not a recipe for success. If Astros land a marquee player before the deadline and we don't, it's going to be a tough September.
Agree here that pitching is the need, don't really need a bat unless it comes as part of a package deal where we are sending a position player as part of a trade. But of course, pitching is what every other team in the hunt for a playoff spot is looking for as well. So as always it'll be interesting to see how it shakes out.
Key focus now is trying to determine which of our pitchers were just in a slump vs. which ones may be reverting to the mean. Sborz in particular, but also Perez and Heaney. Sborz getting back to where he was three or four weeks ago would make a huge difference. Same with LeClerc... can he keep stringing some good outings together, or he is going to start struggling again like he did earlier in the season? Our level of confidence in Sborz and LeClerc will make a big difference in how badly we need more bullpen help.